Former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten looks set to succeed
Greg Chappell as India's coach.
"It is more or less finalized. There are no other names at the
moment," Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah told media
yesterday.
Kirsten, 40, was interviewed by members of the board's special
coach committee on Monday and a decision is expected later this
week when senior board officials meet.
"The most important thing was they approached me," Kirsten was
quoted by Cricinfo website (www.cricinfo.com).
"I didn't approach them, so I suppose from that point of view
one can be encouraged that they felt that there's something I could
offer this team.
"And that gives me a tremendous sense of confidence to know that
I've been backed to that amount or level."
India has been without a coach since Australian Chappell
resigned after India's first-round exit at the World Cup in March
and the team has had interim managers since the tour of Bangladesh
in May.
Kirsten met a committee comprising board president Sharad Pawar,
former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas
Venkataraghavan, treasurer N. Srinivasan and Shah.
Test captain Anil Kumble, who has played against Kirsten, was
also present at the meeting.
South African Graham Ford turned down the coach's job in
June.
Kirsten, a left-handed opening batsman, played 101 tests and 185
one-day internationals for South Africa in an 11-year career that
ended in 2004.
His coaching experience, however, is limited to having been
Cricket South Africa's high performance manager before setting up
his own academy in Cape Town. He conducted a coaching clinic with
the Zimbabwe national team in June.
(Agencies via China Daily November 28, 2007)